Scuba Diving

We offer a variety of scuba diving adventures as well as the full range of PADI dive courses to suit all tastes and needs.

Diving for Certified Guests

All of Mafia’s diving is tide dependent, which means that our departure times, types of dives available, as well as the underwater conditions vary on a day-to-day basis. If your dates are somewhat flexible, we recommend getting in touch with us in advance so that we can recommend the best possible dates to visit!

If your dates are set in stone, we can share a schedule of the dive times and types available so you have a better idea of what you can experience during your stay.

Below is some information on the types of diving we have on offer:

1. Diving from the Shore

Home to the weird and the wonderful. You can see seahorses, frogfish, nudibranches, shrimps, crabs and all the strange critters people point out in fish I.D books and think “What is that thing!” It is all about muck diving which means really keeping your noses to the ground and looking through sandy flats, soft coral bommies and sea grass. If you are looking to see a more traditional reef-scape, this area will definitely not wet your whistle. These dive sites are available all year round. 

2. Diving in Chole Bay

Most people feel they are being restricted when they are told about the dive sites ‘inside the bay’, but oh how wrong they are! Chole Bay is home to the heart of the marine park and undoubtedly boasts the best coral and fish diversity in the archipelago. The hard coral formations here are unparalleled by any other area of Mafia’s underwater world and the sheer number and variety of fish is breathtaking. Each reef is unique and home to creatures great and small, from the tiniest banded cleaner shrimp to giant groupers and napoleon wrasse patrolling the reef tops. These dives sites are available all year round and are for double tank boat trips.

3. Diving outside Chole Bay

Our sites outside of the bay are restricted to Advanced divers only because they have a maximum depth of 26 metres and can experience unpredictable currents. Outside of the safe confines of Chole Bay we still have some excellent underwater adventuring to be had, though there are less sites to explore. There are a couple of walls and a few deep sloping reefs that are home to less variety of fish, but there is still plenty of action! Giant green turtles, giant groupers and reef rays are not uncommon, and if you look out into the blue you could be lucky enough to see some pelagics. These dives sites are only available from October through to March. And are for double tank boat trips.

Learn to dive

Our centre offers a course for everyone! From novice to continuing education to specific specialties.: we plan and schedule our courses as much as we can around our guests needs’ allowing for lazy, quality holiday time as well as completion of practical and dive theory to the highest standards possible.

For those looking to spend less time in the classroom, you can also opt to complete the theory online via E-Learning – an option we highly recommend!

Whether it be a one day taster of scuba, or a lifelong certification – we have something for you! We’ve chosen to offer the full range of PADI courses to offer you the widest choice of options!

Contact us for more details and suggestions on what course suits you!